


The Drumming of Rain

by Cornerofmadness



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 18:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19301029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness
Summary: The storm seems to be the theme of his life.





	The Drumming of Rain

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer** \- Not mine. Mr. Whedon owns all
> 
> **Time Line** \- Set within _Not Fade Away_
> 
> **Warning** angst
> 
> **Author’s Note** Written for the buffyverse bingo for the prompt ‘rainstorm.’ It incorporates the IDW comic canon.

XXX

He was born in a rainstorm a lot like this one. I can remember the way my clothing clung to my body, threatening to raise blisters if I moved to fast. I remember the taste of fear, the blind panic. I would have done anything that night to save him. If Holtz would have let Fred spirit my son away, he could have plunged a stake into my heart without me raising a hand. The ozone smell of the storm had burned itself into my memory, displacing my much younger self’s love of a good rain. Back then things had been so simple, so unappreciated by me.

At least Connor was safe now, somewhere far from this storm, from the monsters spilling out from wherever the fools at Wolfram and Hart had summoned them. The boost from Hamilton’s blood sang throughout my body, firing my nerves, forging my muscles into killing machines, more so than ever before. I wish I could have shared it with Spike because here he is, at my side fighting, knowing we’re going to all die. _Connor’s safe, that’s all that matters_. 

I’m shocked really that Spike hadn’t taken off. This wasn’t the man I had known. This was a changed man, the one Buffy had cared for, the one Dru probably wouldn’t even recognize any more. 

Illyria was fighting alongside us, but of course she is. Fred’s dead. All we have is her ‘shell’ and Illyria should be reveling in this destruction, but she’s been changed too. Spike has more to do with that than I. He and Wes had worked hard, trying to save Fred or what was left of her. Wes was dead now too, probably all my fault and Lorne was gone. I should never have asked him to do what I had asked. I destroyed that friendship like throwing a Venetian glass vase off a balcony. _Connor’s safe, that’s all that matters_. All things considered, having Illyria with us feels right. We can all die together but maybe we can stop this before it spreads across the face of the Earth. Wolfram and Hart cannot win.

Rain sluiced down. My clothes were raising blisters this time as I hacked my way along the street. Another rainstorm just like the one my son was born in, the kind of storm southern California rarely got. I wonder if it’s some sort of omen. I couldn’t see Gunn through the downpour, but I knew he was still around, still fighting. _Connor’s safe, that’s all that matters_.

Somewhere outside of this city, Connor was out of this nightmare, probably with his new family heading the hell out of state. He’d finally listened to me when I kicked him out of Wolfram and Hart. At least I could die knowing finally my son had obeyed one of my wishes.

“The dragon is mine,” I said as it sailed overhead, an honest to god dragon. Hey, if I had to go out, why not go out in style?

“Like hell, it is,” Spike replied. Naturally he wasn’t about let me have all the glory.

Something rushed past me, so close to my back I felt the wind of its movement. A huge demon with antlers and claws inches long black as ebony sprawled on the cracked asphalt. It had nearly pulled out my spine out, but he had problems of his own. So much for my son finally obeying me. Connor wrestled the monster down before slitting its throat. He’d saved my life. My son wasn’t safe. Why the hell could he never listen to me? Why was he so damn stubborn? Oh right. He’s part of me and Darla.

He’d been born in a rainstorm. He was going to die in one.

“Connor! What the hell are you doing here?”

“Been fighting all my life, Angel. I’m where I’m needed.” He didn’t give me time to argue, haring off after another demon.

This isn’t what I wanted. I wanted – no needed – for him to be away from this, for him to be safe. Now I was going to watch him die. Only I don’t. We fight, all of us. I lose track of my friends, find them again. I’m tired to the bone, barely able to wield my sword. That’s when the world shuddered. There was a horrible rending noise, lights blinding me as a terrible sensation blanketed me. I felt like vomiting and that was not a common feeling for a vampire.

When I came to my senses, I knew we weren’t still on Earth. I could sense it. Every fiber of my being screamed it. This was hell. Who knew which one. Was this always Wolfram and Hart’s end game? Had we managed to save Earth somehow but at a deep cost to us? Slowly I realized I was on my back, staring up at ruined buildings that hadn’t transitioned well. To my left stood Wolfram and Hart, unmarred somehow.

The rainstorm had followed us, but the scent had changed. There was a bilious odor now. I glanced around and caught sight of Spike racing after Illyria who had taken off. They were out of sight so fast I could barely comprehend it. Where were they going in this hell? I spotted demons moving out of the corner of my eye. I saw humans moving in an alley. God, had all of Los Angeles been sucked in with us? It looked like it. I couldn’t comprehend that reality. It was too big, too terrifying.

Where was my son?

I managed to get to my feet, aches letting me know I was damaged. I tried to scent the air to find Connor only I couldn’t smell much but the rain. Something was wrong. I strained to hear, knowing Connor was hurt too. He might groan or something to let me know where he was. All I could hear was the thundering of blood in my ears and the pounding of rain. Wait, what? My blood didn’t thunder. My heart pounded in my chest. That couldn’t be, could it? Even the Powers couldn’t be so cruel as to throw me into hell and let me become human again, could they? Why not? I was nearly human in Pylea. I couldn’t deny the fact I had a pulse. 

“Angel!”

I whipped around. Connor limped my way, bleeding profusely from a scalp injury and bearing claw marks across his chest, nothing he wouldn’t heal perfectly from. I couldn’t do this. I was human in hell. I’d be prey to any and all demons, no different than Wes, Fred or Gunn. Fred and Wes were dead, maybe Gunn too. If this was hell, a human like I seemed to be would end up just as dead and probably quickly if I wasn’t careful. Connor would want to protect me. Hell, I’d get him killed if he knew what had happened. I couldn’t let him die trying to save me. A little voice in my head said Buffy kept Willow, Giles and Xander alive in spite of it all and Connor could do the same for me but I locked that voice away. I wasn’t going to gamble my son’s life to save mine.

“Connor, you need to find someplace safe,” I said, backing away

He glanced at the sky. The damn dragon was still up there but it wasn’t Earth’s sky. No one would mistake this as home. “Let’s go then. I saw some vampires grab Gunn earlier. I couldn’t get to him in time. Do you think he’s dead?”

“I don’t know but you have to go. We need to split up. Spike and Illyria went that way.” I pointed, thinking Gunn was dead. If vampires ganged up on him, he was dead. I would worry about him later. I had to get Connor away from me before he realized he could hear my heart beating. I didn’t want to lose my son in this place, but I had to for his own good. Please, son, let this be the time you listen to me. I couldn’t let him die protecting me. 

Connor’s blue eyes slotted. “We should stay together.”

Of course he was going to argue, just like he hadn’t listened to me back on Earth. Connor the Contrarian. “We can’t stay together. We need to fan out, help as many people as we can.”

He looked around, as if suddenly noticing all of L.A. was here, thousands of humans now prey for whatever demons called this hell home. That got his attention. My son had a protective streak as big as California. “Still say we should stay together.”

I shook my head. “I’ll go after Spike and Illyria. You find Gunn.”

Connor nodded. “Okay.”

He took off, presumably heading toward wherever he’d last seen Gunn. I didn’t follow Spike. I went inside Wolfram and Hart and hid in my office. What could I do now? My son was in hell despite my best attentions. I was human and easy prey. What the hell could I do now? Could I fend Connor off. He’d only come to hate me more. Right now, I hated myself so what was a little more. The rain beat down against the windows. Another rainstorm heralding huge changes in my life. 

I felt eyes on me. I spun in my office chair. Wesley stood behind me. I could see right through him. Damn, those Wolfram and Hart longer than life contracts; how selfish and desperate I had been to manipulate my friends into signing them.

Wesley’s ghost cleared his throat. “Angel, we have a lot to do if we’re going to fix this.”

I sighed, shutting my eyes and listened to the rain against the window glass. Of course we did, and I would have to do it alone. In the end, I was always alone.


End file.
